Method of preserving wood from decay.



w, in GOLTRA.- METHOD OF PRBSEBVING WOOD FROM DEGAY.. APPLIOATI6H FILED 1.11.2, 1912.

1,50%?3'04. Patented Dec. 17,1912.

Inventor;

5i. 22%;, WEGovmA to be tea osed to -the, deteriorating influences WILLIA FRANCIS GOLTRA, or "CLEVELAND, OHIO.

ME rHon or r'rmsieaume 001 FROM DECAY Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 2,-1'912; Serial 1N0. 668,914.

To all 'whom 'it may concern:

f -Be it known that, I, \VinmA-ar -FRANC1S 'GOLTRA, a citizfn of the, United States,'.1-e-

' "siding at Cleve tain new and, useful Improvements in Methods' of- Preserving YVood from Decay of :which the following is a )ecilicatio'n. I

especially to such Wood or timbers as have been more or less completely worked into I shape for use, such as c'ross-t1es, .fence posts, piles and prepared timber and lumber some- What generally andparticularly: such as is v p and, in the county of Cuya-. h'oga and, State of Ohio, have in\-'ent edi,cr;

. of the elements, of' vhich Wooden bridges are an xample; g] 4 Assu ing-for the'present descr ption that railway cross-t1es-.-a're the'tnnbers to be treated; the process goes forward in.-the- 0rder indicated in the diagrammatic drawing herewith. and the first step is steaming" the tiesl Immediately upon arrival of, the ties at the treating plant,fthey' are transferred to narrow-gage tranr-cars, and run ontotracks into the steaming cylinders A andthe cylinders hermetically closed.v The ties arethensubjectedtolive steam'for a period varying from thirty minutes to four hburs', depend ing upon the character and condition' of the Q stock, such'as thickness of the pieces, density of thew-00d, species of the .wood;' moisture content 'andvthe like, anda steam pressure of about fifteen pounds should be the maxireduction of the time subsequently required for' seasoning the Wood, Whether, it be in a dry-kiln with heated air or by natural air-seasoning, and

it dissolves and withdraws the juices and saps and prevents decay when subsequently dried. It also softens the outer surfaces-and going air-seasonlng.

opens ing and splitting which is so common 1n,

cross ties and timber generallyWhile under- Experiinents under varying conditions indicatethat large timbers, SllCh as railroad 'ties, 5' 5 been demonstrated thatin iyood subjected to livehsteam ,under, pressure not exceeding 6' twenty, pounds] for time varying from thirty minhtes to four hour's; acoerding to This invention. relates to a method of re-. serving wood from decay, and is applic ble kind amid thickness ,of Wood, the eploringof' the Wood lSsCllStlilblltGCl, equalized and inriproved and form. y I i When steaming sawed'tis tir lumbeij'the 'pi'eces 'shdul 'be piled on cross sticks, about ,.one inch apa 't horizontally, so. that the steamwill'have access to all surfacesi The steam pressure should 'be only a few pounds at the beginning and:v gradually increased to not exceed ng tweny pounds attheqend or the operation, so as not to heat the timber too suddenly, 'Which might cause checking andf7 5 splitting, 'z ui effect which frequently occurs when hot oil is introducedintothe retort" on cold ties.

The next: step invo 'same' in ayardfor ,aibseasohing'; "Thus, the. loaded tram-cars are then drawn outonto a 1 transfer table C, WlllCh is run to one of theparallel yard tracks where theties B are to be I stacked. 'The tracks D are divided into par allel sets of three rails each, so that a standard gage locomotive crane can 'standon the wider ,traek of, one set and unloa'd narrow track of the other set.

1 The next step is to machine the ties. When the-ties have suificien'tly. seasoned-and. are ready for further treatment, they are taken from the stacksg'passed through gaining and boring operations and loaded directly on the tram-cars and carrie'd'to theovensfor the completionof the drying.

Most ties, Whether sawn or the rail base crushes down thec wood 'at the highest. contact point; -The,machining of ties obviates the necEss'ity Of gainin them before laying in the the time the ties are air-seasoning some. distortioni-n shape will occur, and iffgained Patented Dee. 1.7, 19 12.

nde d, approximately; u'n'i- 6'5 yes-natural and grad-- ual-iemporahon; of t 10 condensedsteam or '80 moisture from the timber by staokingfthefi' a' 'e tram-cars standing on the narrower-9e hewni are either bowed or wlndlng, and in 'either case 10o rack, thereby e eating," l a saving in t me and labor of section men, -It'a1so should be borne in mindthat during mechanically after such seasoning they will have faces in the same plane. Thus, a tie ,When first-properly seasoned, then gained and bored andthen properly treated with. 5.:1I1ti'S6PtlCS, has received the most perfect protection possible at, every point against the destructive agencies of decay and mechanical wear. 4

Afterthe ties have been steamed, yard.

dried and machined, they are transported to. drying ovens E. Air seaso'ning in itself it-not suflicient to insure a good preparation of they ties for the impregnating treatment, and should therefore be completed in drying ovens. 3 An average of twenty-four hours is suflicient time to heat timbers,such as railroad ties through and through, and during this time the moisture content w-ill be' re: duced three to four per cent; The high 1 temperatureof the impregnating fluid when introduced into the retort is thus maintained when it comes into contact with the wood and the penetration. is deeper. and more per feet. Ties exposed tothe weather immedi- 2 ately prior to treatment are often drenched by heavyrains'and absorb considerable wa- 'ter.' This off-sets, in a great-measure, the air seasoning and makes it quite impossible toob tain good', results from such seasoning- 0 alone. The rapidity with-which the drying canbe carried on after the material has re- ;ceived a preliminary steaming or air drying therefore depends'upon severalfactors, such as species of the wood, its softness or den- -5 sity, size, mass, intended use and the manner in which it is presented'to the air in ovens. The time required in the oven to complete the drying of railroad ties which have undergone the several preceding steps of my 40 process is between eighteen and thirty hours,

or an average of twenty-four hours.

i The drying oven as a structure is preferably built of cement and masonry and corresponds 'in length and size to the length of the impregnating retorts,-and is heated by means of heating coils placed under or inthe bottom thereof. Each oven is adapted to be operated independently of the other,-

so that when .one or more ovens are being charged the others are not affected. At the beginning the temperature of the ovens shouldbe about 95? and gradually raised to 150 to 175 F. A maximum temperature of 236]Ffrl1aybe attained with boiler pressure of 100 pounds.

;The transfer from the drying ovens is quickly made by means of the transfer table C which carries thet-ram cars loaded with the ties, and no appreciable amount of heat is lost while making the shift from the said ovens to the impregnating retort.

After the timbers have remained in the drying ovens E a sufficient length of time thetrams-are drawn out onto transfertable C and immediately run into the impregnating cylinder F for chemical treatment. The

entire impregnating operation takes about 240 minutes or 'about four hours.

" The first step .is to produce a vacuum up to 14 and which should be attained within thirty to forty-five minutes. a This is for the purpose of withdrawing some; of the air from the cells and pores of the wood and inducing absorption of chemical. The .vacu

'um'having been on for sufiicient time it is held while the chemical is allowed to flowinto the cylinder, which itdoes very rapidly" by the help of the vacuum and gravity, until theimpregnating cylinderis' completely filled, it being understood that the chemical.

has been previously'heated to a temperature of 175 degrees F. YVhen the .air pressure in the impregnating retort reaches the atmospheric. pressure, as shown by a vacuum gage,

an air valve with an overflow pipe attached. v is opened to let'air escape from the retort penetrates into the wood the more'the force pump has to be kept at work toinaintain this necessary pressure, and-the impregna- 4 'tion is considered complete when the x'nanometer shows, for at; least twenty minutes, that without further pumping the'pressure has remained stationary at 'poundsthus showing that the chemical is no longer penetrating into the wood. 7 The duration of this phase of the operation varies from one to two hours, dependingupon many factors, such as species of wood, 1ts physical st-ruc-.

ture,v proportion of heartwood and sap 'wood, degree of seasoning, a size, mass and' many other." conditions. The "treatmentshould, in all'cases, be .carried on to re; fusal, which obviates the necessity for sorting ties or. -timbers into numerous "groups, and this is the only way to secure complete'and thorough impregnation. The

pressure should not exceed. 100 pounds to the square inch, asit-is liable to injure the fiber of the wood.

When the timber has absorbed all the chemical it will take air is pumped into the cylinder from-above and-the solution driven out below back, into the storage tanks. The

solution valves are then closed and a vacuum immediately created lI1 -l'.-l16 cylinder by means of the vacuum pump. This need not exceed 14, and isheld aboutthirty minutes 1 to allow the ties timeto drip.

' lVhen -the ties'or timbers get dry-enough to handle the vacuum isreleased and the dripping returned to the working'tank from which it was. originally drawn .This is system or prepare the ties or timbers for further treatment as herein set forth is illustrated, for example, in Letters Patent of the United States, No. 582,915, ofMay 18, 1897, and which illustrates a machine for boring and trimming railroad ties.

What I claim is:

1. The method of treating railway. ties and other timbers, consisting first in steaming the timber until the contained sap cells have been ruptured and the contents liberated; then drying the timber for a season in the open air and following' this with artificial drying until practically perfectly cured, and then finally impregnating the timber witha suitable preservative.

2. The method of preparing railway ties to receive a liquid preservative consisting first in boiling the ties in live steam until the natural juices are expelled; then air drying in the open for a season; then gaining and boring the ties to prepare bearing surfaces for rails and holes for spikes, thereby permitting a thorough impregnation at points where ties'are machined; then drying the ties in an oven until perfectly dried through and at the same time heating them to a receptive temperature for the preservative solution and finally impregnating the ties. I

3. The method of treating railway ties consisting in first steaming the ties with live steam until the 'sap and natural juices are driven out of the ties; then air seasoning the tiesfhr a season and following this with hot air drying under confinement, and while the ties are yet warm impregnating them with a preservative solution applied under pressure and continued to the point of refusal.

at. The method of treating timbers consist ing in first liberating the sap and natural juices in the timber by the direct application of live steam and at the same time filling the pores of the timber more or less with deposits fro-m the steam; then eliminating the residual moisture by comparatively slow initial drying to avoid checking, and following this with kiln drying and finally vwhile the timbers are still warm impregnab ing the same with a chemical solution under pressure to substantially the point of refusal.

5. A process of treating wood, which comprises the steps of steaming, airdrying, and heat drying, in the order stated.

6. A process of treating wood, which. comprises the steps of steaming, air drying, heat drying and impregnating with a liquid, in the order stated.

7. A process of treating ties, which comprises the steps of gaining and boring the same to form rail seats and spike holes, 'and to allow greater permeability in these portions than in the body of the ties, drying and thereafter impregnating with a suitable liquid.

8. A process of treating ties, which comprises the steps, of steaming the ties, gaining and boring the same to form rail seats "andspike holes, and to allow greater permeability in these portions than in the body of the ties, drying the ties and thereafter impregnating with a suitable liquid.

9. An article of manufacture comprising a railroad tie substantially devoid of its natural sap and moisture, and having spike holes bored therein, and rail seats gained on its upper surface, said seats lying in Slll7- stantially the same plane, and being impregnated with a suitable preservative, the'impregnation at and near the rail seats being heavier than in the other parts of the tie.

In testimony whereof I afliX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

lVitnesses F. C. .MUssUN,

E.- M. Fisnnn. 

